ATC Terminology Affects Phraseology

Radar Contact #28 for 29 May 2013: Terminology Affects Phraseology

Aloha! I’m back from vacation and ready to talk radio procedures with you again. This time, we are going to address some questions about radio work raised by the pilots who edited my newest book. They had questions. I had answers. You’ll get to hear the whole discussion in this week’s show.

The book? It’s about a week away from hitting the shelves. I’ll tell you all about it when you hit the starter switch for the show. Clear prop!

Show Notes:

What is the difference between a rejected landing, a discontinued takeoff, and how do both situations affect what you say on the radio? The key words are “Abort” and “Go around.”

What’s wrong with this exchange? ATC: “Cessna 9130 Delta, turn right heading two four zero, descend and maintain four thousand.” Pilot: “Cessna 9130 Delta, descend and maintain four thousand. Right heading two four zero.”

The AIM, Table 4-1-1 clearly states you should announce your position in an airport traffic pattern as you enter the next leg of the pattern.

When you check in with ATC on the radio, and you are in the middle of climbing to or descending to a specific altitude, the words to use with ATC are: “Climbing to,” or “Descending to.” Those quotes come from AIM 5-3-1 b. 2. (a): “When operating in a radar environment: On initial contact, the pilot should inform the controller of the aircraft’s assigned altitude preceded by the words “level,” or “climbing to,” or “descending to,” as appropriate; and the aircraft’s present vacating altitude, if applicable.”

Your Question of the Week:

You are flying in a tower-controlled airport pattern. You have just rolled out on a 2-mile final approach to Runway 26. Just as you do this, you hear Tower say to another airplane, “Cessna 9130 Delta, Runway 26, line up and wait.” As you look ahead to the runway, you see a Cessna 172 roll out onto the runway, turn the corner, point down the length of the runway and stop.

You are now on about a mile and quarter final when you hear Tower clear that airplane for takeoff. That airplane begins its takeoff roll. You are on a three-quarter mile final when you hear the pilot of that other airplane say, “Cessna 9130 Delta is aborting. I’ll be stopping on the runway.”

Here’s your questions. First, what do you expect Tower to say to you after acknowledging that other pilot? Second, what do you say in reply; and then what do you do?

When you think you know the answer to those questions, go to the link ATCcommunication.com/answers. There you will find all of the answers along with a complete explanation of how those answers were derived.

Reviewed in AOPA's Flight Training magazine, March issue: "It’s like having a highly experienced pilot give advice in the flight school or hangar— . . Readers looking for advice they can actually put to practice will enjoy the overflowing amount of information."

I created this course for pilots who struggle to copy IFR route changes, full route clearances, and holding pattern clearances. Find out more at IFRclearance.com.

Jeff

"For $39, your course was probably the best value I got in my IFR training. I went from being very unsure of the radio communications aspect of IFR flying to being extremely confident I could handle almost anything."

Integrated Flight and Radio Sim is Offline

Version 2.2 is temporarily offline.

My Story

The fire department scrambled after my very first solo touch-and-go at Gainesville Regional Airport. I could see them from my vantage point on left downwind. Their red lights were flashing, as they sped down Taxiway Alpha. What was wrong with my airplane? What had I done wrong? Were witnesses putting marshmallows on sticks to roast them in my post-crash fire? Find out--->